ABERDEEN, Md. 鈥� When you鈥檝e played as much baseball as Cal Ripken Jr. has 鈥� nearly 13,000 plate appearances scattered over more than 3,000 Major League games, the last one 16 years ago 鈥� you might think the details would get fuzzy here and there, overlapping in your memory.
The years blend together, much less individual games, or the moments within them. And when you鈥檝e accomplished all Ripken has 鈥� Rookie of the Year, two MVP awards, two Gold Gloves, eight Silver Sluggers, 19 All-Star appearances, a World Series title, a first-ballot Hall of Fame induction, a spot on seemingly every MLB list with the words 鈥渕ost,鈥� 鈥渇amous鈥� and 鈥渆motional鈥� 鈥� one might think the memories might be a little soft around the edges, more rooted in the feelings of the moment than the granular details.
So how well does Ripken remember that one moment, 30 years ago, when he, his younger brother Billy and his father Cal Sr. became the first family to have two brothers playing the Major Leagues being coached by their father?
鈥淚t was 1987, and I remember it was the start of the second half,鈥� Ripken recounted to 草莓传媒. 鈥淚 think Franky Viola was pitching that game, when Billy made his debut. But Billy hit .286 in Rochester, Rick Burleson was having some problems with his shoulder going in and out, so they made the move to bring him up.鈥�
Well, alright then. In case you鈥檙e the fact-checking type, yes, those were as Ripken remembered them, entirely off the cuff. It says something about Ripken鈥檚 incredible recall, to be certain. But it also speaks to what鈥檚 most important to him and why, 16 years after retirement, his relentless drive continues to push him to forge a second baseball legacy.
Around these parts, people will tell you that Cal Ripken Jr. saved baseball.
The crippling Major League Baseball strike in 1994 cost the sport the World Series and led to a 20 percent decline in attendance the following year. Though MLB didn鈥檛 surpass pre-strike attendance levels again until 2006, Ripken鈥檚 most famous moment amid a career of them came on Sept. 1 that next year, 1995, with President Clinton and Vice President Gore in attendance to watch him break Lou Gehrig鈥檚 mark for consecutive games played.
It鈥檚 an odd thing to be famous for, showing up for work every day. But within the allegorically American lesson of humility and hard work is a drive that hasn鈥檛 abated in the decade-and-a-half since he stepped out of the Major League limelight. Ripken may have done even more to save the game in his retirement, leaving a tangible legacy that could easily outlast any memory of his playing days.
Despite record MLB revenues, America has engaged in an extended, decade-long handwringing over the lack of interest in baseball among the next generation, especially in poor minority neighborhoods. That鈥檚 been the focus of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, named after Ripken鈥檚 father, which has impacted more than a million kids through its programs and the fields it has built.
鈥淲e named the foundation after him because his legacy to us was that he developed kids,鈥� said Ripken. 鈥淎nd he used baseball in neighborhoods sometimes that didn鈥檛 always have the same advantages to communicate with them.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 the original plan, but Ripken saw a need to build fields to provide places for kids to play and for neighborhoods to embrace as sacred spaces. The foundation has completed almost 70 across the country, with 30 more in the works.
鈥淥nce you start getting into the communities, you realize that they need safer places to play, areas of protection. I kind of think of them as outdoor classrooms, in some ways 鈥� The communities really do put their arms around them and say, 鈥楾his is our space.鈥欌��
Ripken鈥檚 also been involved as a Minor League Baseball owner, but has pared back those investments to focus on youth baseball, starting with The Ripken Experience in his home town of Aberdeen. The complex, across the street from Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium, home of the aptly named Aberdeen Ironbirds, has a half-dozen fields, all modeled after famous ballparks. The biggest one, with a full seating bowl, faces a hotel built to look like the B&O Warehouse over the right field wall at Camden Yards.
In 2006, The Ripken Experience expanded, with a second location in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. As in Aberdeen, the Myrtle Beach facility features replicas of ballparks, though this one focuses on the classic parks of the past, from Ebbets Field, to the Polo Ground, to Griffith Stadium, spread over 50 acres. Last year, a third Ripken Experience opened in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, southeast of Knoxville at the foot of the Smoky Mountains. Together, they hosted nearly 30,000 youth players and coaches for camps and tournaments.
Maintaining and expanding this empire is a lot of work, especially for someone like Ripken. So many successful athletes are happy to play golf, or fish. Those who still want to be involved in the game might coach or take a spot in a broadcast booth, maybe a front office advisor gig. But nobody鈥檚 doing what Ripken is doing, with as much verve as he鈥檚 doing it.
鈥淪ometimes I wonder if I busy myself for the sake of busying myself,鈥� Ripken said, trailing off. 鈥淵ou want to make a difference. You want to stand for something.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 enough to stand for being the Iron Man of baseball, for being known for hitting and catching and throwing a ball every day.
鈥淚 realized that you鈥檙e not going to play forever, I think, when I was a younger player,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat was I going to do next? How do I use the platform that baseball gave me to do something I really want to do?鈥�
Unlike some athletes, who are barely recognizable when they come back for team celebrations, Ripken looks much the same at 57 as he did when he retired. He always had a distinguished presentation about him, and is just as recognizable filling out a black suit as an orange-piped Orioles uniform, his familiar, casual smile and relaxed delivery honed from decades of speaking into microphones.
Walking around the complex in Aberdeen, unfazed by a light rain that begins to fall, you can hear the excitement in Ripken鈥檚 voice as he describes the different facilities. There are fields modeled after the dimensions of Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, complete with a mini Green Monster. Down at the very back, though, might be the installment Ripken鈥檚 most proud of. There鈥檚 a brick fa莽ade behind home plate at the Wrigley Field replica 鈥� complete with real ivy growing over the outfield wall. Billy built and installed it himself.
In building these complexes, Ripken wanted to share the experience he was lucky enough to have growing up. That鈥檚 where 鈥淭he Ripken Way鈥� comes from; it鈥檚 as much a tribute to his father鈥檚 upbringing as anything else.
鈥淭he Oriole Way was doing things right, not doing them halfway, but putting time in and doing the work, and that鈥檚 really what dad stood for,鈥� said Ripken. 鈥淪o when dad came to the big leagues and maybe some of the elements of The Oriole Way had fallen apart, the baseball players themselves started calling that The Ripken Way.鈥�
Cal Ripken Sr.鈥檚 baseball life influenced his elder son in two profound ways, instilling in him that legendary drive, but also a desire to be present for his own children. They were aged eight and 12 when Ripken retired, and he didn鈥檛 want to miss any more of their lives than he already had jetting around the country eight months a year as a player. It鈥檚 something he realized later, well after that history-making day 30 years ago, just how significant it was to be able to enjoy the game with his family.
鈥淚t really wasn鈥檛 until it started to break up and it wasn鈥檛 there anymore that you look back and you go, man that was really special,鈥� Ripken said.
Now that his children are grown, it would be understandable if Ripken felt the need to scratch the itch to get back into Major League ball. He remains one of the most popular athletes in the mid-Atlantic area, someone whose name has surfaced in the past when managerial jobs have opened up. Ripken insisted that his focus was on his business and the foundation, but he didn鈥檛 shut the door on potentially coming back to the Major Leagues if the situation was right. It should be noted for context that Ripken spoke with 草莓传媒 prior to the Nationals鈥� elimination and Dusty Baker鈥檚 release.
鈥淚t might happen. But for now, I鈥檓 very content pushing forward with what鈥檚 going on, and if there was an opportunity that was interesting to me, I鈥檇 certainly listen,鈥� he said.
If he does, that will be another chapter in his baseball life. Ripken鈥檚 been asked countless times about his legacy, having heard some version of the question at every moment up to and since the 2,131 banner unfurled its way down the brick warehouse on Eutaw Street. But it鈥檚 hard to imagine that it will have as much tangible impact as the current one, teaching the next generation The Ripken Way.
鈥淚 guess when you add it all up, I鈥檓 doing what I wanted to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wanted to move the ball and promote baseball, and I鈥檓 giving kids an opportunity to experience baseball the way Billy and I experienced it.鈥�
Watch more of the interview with Cal Ripken Jr. below:聽
